Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Bahrain: Technical Assistance

lord scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 18 June (HL8314), why they will not disclose the names of present beneficiaries of UK funding to Bahrain.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: ​The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is not in a position to make precise details available as we have a duty to maintain the confidentiality and confidence of our partners.The Government works with a number of implementation partners and beneficiaries to support Bahraini-led reform. These programmes aim to support progress on building effective and accountable institutions, strengthening the rule of law, and justice reform. All of our work is in line with international standards and aims to share the UK's expertise and experience. All projects are regularly monitored and reviewed to ensure training provided by or on behalf of the British Government fully complies with its domestic and international human rights obligations.

Iraq: Military Intervention

lord hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their latest assessment of Turkish military operations in northern Iraq and of reported attacks on villages in the Qandil Mountains; and whether they intend to make representations to the government of Turkey to encourage it to cease such action.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: We have been closely following Turkey’s Operation Tigris Shield, announced in March in order to combat Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fighters in the Turkey-Iraq border regions. The PKK remains a significant threat to Turkey and is an internationally proscribed terrorist organisation. We regularly discuss matters of regional security with Turkey.

USA: State Visits

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the benefits of a state visit by the President of the United Statesafter Brexit.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: ​Our bilateral relationship is one of the closest in the world and a State Visit by the President of the United States is an opportunity to further strengthen and deepen that partnership across areas of mutual interest, including security, foreign policy and trade and investment. Plans for the State Visit remain unchanged: an offer has been extended and accepted.

Department for Education

Teenage Pregnancy

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, or have taken, to ensure that schoolgirls who become pregnant can continue their education during pregnancy and after their baby's birth; whether they have held any consultations on this issue in the last five years; and if so, with whom they consulted.

lord agnew of oulton: The department published the attached guidance for local authorities in January 2013: ‘Ensuring a good education for children who cannot attend school because of health needs’. In this guidance, we made clear that local authorities are responsible for arranging suitable full-time education for permanently excluded pupils, and for other children who – because of illness or other reasons – would not receive suitable education without such provision. This means that where a child cannot attend school because of a health condition or any other condition, for example pregnancy, and would not otherwise receive a suitable full-time education, the local authority is responsible for arranging provision and must have regard to this guidance. The department has not consulted on this issue in the last five years. The department is committed to improving education to ensure young people are supported to make informed decisions around sexual health. The department is making Relationships and Sex Education compulsory at secondary, in all schools in England and has completed an engagement process including a call for evidence with over 23,000 responses, including from young people. From these findings, the department will develop draft regulations and guidance for public consultation shortly.



DfE_published_guidance_2013
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Special Educational Needs: Autism

lord watson of invergowrie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to introducing a national autism and education strategy.

lord agnew of oulton: The ‘Autism and education in England 2017’ report, produced by the All Party Parliamentary Group last November, is informing the government’s thinking towards achieving our vision of the Special Educational Needs and Disability system. We are carefully considering the report’s recommendations, such as implementing a national autism strategy. Some of the report’s recommendations reflect existing policy. These include the government’s funding of extensive autism awareness training for school staff, 175,000 already trained, improving local accountability and providing additional funding. We will confirm our next steps later this year.

Adoption

lord watson of invergowrie: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many regional adoption agencies have been created; what areas they cover; and in how many of those agencies the Secretary of State for Education has used the direction-making power contained in section 15 of the Education and Adoption Act 2016.

lord agnew of oulton: There are 10 live regional adoption agencies covering a third of local authorities. We have not used the direction-making power contained in Section 15 of the Education Act 2016. A list of the local authorities involved in these agencies is attached.



List_of_local_authorities
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Child Minding

lord storey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are takingto increase the number of childminders.

lord agnew of oulton: Childminders are an important part of the childcare and early education sector and can often provide a level of flexibility that other providers cannot.To encourage new childminders into the market and to support existing childminders, we have made it easier for them to work outside of the home and play a full role in the 30 hours free childcare entitlement. This includes setting an expectation that they should be paid monthly by councils, offering start-up grants to new childminders delivering the free offer, supporting childminders to improve their business skills and creating new partnerships between childminders and schools.

Ministry of Justice

Prisoners: Females

baroness fall: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the total number of women who have been in prison over the last two decades.

lord keen of elie: This information is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost. However, the total first receptions for female offenders in each of the years in the last two decades can be found in the attached tables. Please refer to ‘female first receptions’ in Tables A2.1i (2015 to 2017) and A2.1ii (1993 to 2014). The definition for first reception is a unique individual first received into prison custody from court for a particular set of offences committed. This gives the best indication of the number of new prisoners in the reporting period.



Table
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Second Homes: Council Tax

lord shipley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many second homes in England are registered as businesses and are therefore not required to pay council tax.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: Second Homes are liable for Council Tax. Where a property is available for letting commercially for short periods totalling at least 140 days per year, then it will be assessed for business rates and added to the business rates list. As of April 2018, there were 46,698 holiday lets liable for business rates in England.

Religious Hatred: Islam

baroness afshar: To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they have put in place to protect Muslim citizens from verbal and physical attack and abuse on religious grounds.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: The Government deplores all hate crime including Islamophobia and is committed to tackling it. Nobody should be a target for hate because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity or disability.We have a strong legal framework in place with criminal penalties for offences such as incitement to religious hatred, racially or religiously aggravated offences such as intentionally causing harassment, alarm or distress, as well as increased sentences for offences motivated by prejudice hostility or prejudice based on a person’s real or perceived religion.We support Tell MAMA in their work to encourage greater reporting of anti-Muslim hatred and to support victims of hate crime. We also fund projects such as Streetwise and the Anne Frank Trust to work with young people to tackle prejudice and discrimination which may lay the foundations for hate crime in the future.If anyone feels they have been a victim of hate crime, they should report this directly to their local police force, through the online True Vision portal or to Tell MAMA, who will be able to provide assistance and proceed appropriately.

Domestic Violence: Homelessness

baroness lister of burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that the Homeless Code of Guidance for Local Authorities clarifies that all individuals fleeing domestic abuse are in priority need, regardless of whether they have other forms of vulnerability.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: Domestic abuse is a life-shattering and abhorrent crime. We are committed to protecting victims of domestic abuse, ensuring everyone has a roof over their head and that they receive all the support needed to rebuild their lives.The Homelessness Code of Guidance has recently been updated in consultation with stakeholders to reflect the changes brought in by the Homelessness Reduction Act, and includes guidance on how a local authority might assess if an applicant is vulnerable and therefore in priority need. The Code of Guidance also makes clear that local authorities should not limit their understanding of domestic abuse to physical violence alone, and that in all cases involving domestic abuse, the safety of the applicant is paramount.

Home Office

Immigration: Windrush Generation

lord bassam of brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in determining the compensation scheme for victims of the hostile environment policy towards the Windrush generation; and whether the scheme will cover any losses in connection with (1)employment opportunities, (2) housing, (3) physical, psychological and mental ill health problems, and (4) meeting Home Office immigration status requirements.

baroness williams of trafford: The compensation scheme for those of the Windrush generation that might have been affected is in the process of being established.The call for evidence for that scheme ended on 8 June and the Home Office are now preparing to launch the next stage of consultation, working with affected communities. The scheme will be set up as soon as possible after we have consulted on the design and scope of what should be included.

Home Office: Complaints

lord bassam of brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people complained about ill treatment by the Home Office since 2010;how many of those complaints are still outstanding; and what is the estimated time it will take to resolve those outstanding cases.

baroness williams of trafford: For immigration and customs routes, data is not recorded in a manner which would allow for a report on how many complaints since 2010 relate to ill-treatment.To find the number of complaints which relate to ill-treatment, number outstanding and expected time to resolve each complaint wouldrequire a trawl through each individual case to ascertain the nature of the enquiry, and this would breach the disproportionate cost threshold.

Immigration

lord bassam of brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the number of individuals and families affected by the impact of the hostile environment policy.

baroness williams of trafford: Successive Governments have brought forward measures to prevent illegal immigration and the misuse of public services and benefits.Impact assessments on the Immigration Acts 2014 and 2016 were published during the passage of the legislation, and key compliant environment measures on immigration checks by employers and landlords have been the subject of public consultations.Many checks, such as right to rent and right to work, are applicable to everyone in the UK on a non-discriminatory basis. Checks are often conducted independently of the Home Office and so it is not possible for the Government to accurately estimate the number of individuals who have been impacted by these measures.However, it is right that we understand the impact of the compliant environment, and that safeguards are effective in protecting vulnerable persons and preventing unintended consequences for those lawfully in the UK.In light of Windrush, we are reviewing our safeguards and recognise the need to put in place an evaluation scheme to do this.

Migrant Workers: EU Nationals

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to implement a specific visa system for EU workers after Brexit.

baroness williams of trafford: The Government is considering a range of options for the future immigration system and we will set out initial plans in the coming months. That is why we have commissioned the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to gather evidence on patterns of EU migration and the role of migration in the wider economy, ahead of our exit from the EU.The Government will have plenty of time to take account of the MAC’s advice when making any final decisions about our future immigration system, which would not be implemented until after the Implementation Period in 2021.

Motorcycles: Crime

lord truscott: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have considered banning pillion riding on motorised vehicles to tackle the surge in moped and other related crimes.

baroness williams of trafford: The Government is not considering a ban on pillion riding on motorised vehicles.Reports of crimes involving motorcycles, mopeds and scooters are clearly a concern. That is why the Government has worked with the police, industry and other partners to develop a comprehensive action plan focusing on what more can be done to prevent offending and keep the public safe. The impact on the motorcycle community is a key consideration in our work to prevent these crimes. Indeed, we are keen to ensure that law abiding riders and passengers are not unnecessarily impacted.This work sits alongside the consultation on police pursuits that the Government launched on 22 May which seeks to give police greater confidence to pursue suspects and will help tackle these crimes. The proposals include plans to make clear in law that a suspect is responsible for their own decision to drive dangerously and blame should not be attached to the pursuing officer.

Cabinet Office

Honours

lord pearson of rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government who the members of the committees which agreed honours for non-political recipients were (1) in 2004, and (2) this year.

lord young of cookham: Providing the information would exceed the word limit for responses to Parliamentary Questions.Full details of the membership of the specialist honours committees in 2018 can be found on the GOV.UK website at www.gov.uk/guidance/honours-committeesMembership of the specialist honours committees was routinely made public from 2005.

Treasury

Secured Loans

lord stevenson of balmacara: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the damage caused to vulnerable people by high cost log book loans; why they have decided not to proceed with the Goods Mortgages Bill through the Law Commission’s special procedure; and what alternative steps they intend to take to increase consumer protection.

lord bates: In September 2014, the Government asked the Law Commission to examine the Bills of Sale Acts, and the Law Commission published a draft Goods Mortgages Bill in September 2017. The Government published a consultation alongside the draft bill. On 14 May 2018, the Government published a response to the consultation. Due to concerns raised in the consultation, the shrinking size of the logbook loan market, and wider work on high-cost credit, the Government decided not to take the Goods Mortgages Bill forward at this time. The Government has given the FCA strong powers to protect consumers. The FCA has decided to look in more detail at logbook loans, using their supervisory and policy tools to assess whether they need to take action. The Government will continue to work closely with the FCA to ensure that all customers are treated fairly.

Financial Services

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in safeguarding the legality of (1) cross-border derivative, and (2) insurance, contracts after Brexit.

lord bates: The Financial Policy Committee (FPC) is responsible for reviewing risks to the UK’s financial stability associated with its exit from the EU, including legal uncertainties concerning existing cross-border financial services contracts sold under passporting arrangements. This affects both UK and EU financial services firms and their customers. The UK and EU have reached a hugely important milestone in the Brexit process by agreeing the terms of a time-limited implementation period. During the implementation period, access to one another’s markets will remain unchanged and on the current terms. This will allow citizens and businesses in the UK and across the EU to plan with confidence on the basis that businesses can operate as now throughout the implementation period. The UK government has also been clear that, per its 20 December 2017 announcement, it will legislate, if necessary, to ensure that financial services firms’ contractual obligations can continue to be met, mitigating the potential impact of withdrawal on EU firms’ existing contracts in the UK. There is a shared interest for both the UK and the EU to ensure that we avoid outcomes that impose unnecessary costs and disruption on individuals and businesses as the UK leaves the EU. It is vitally important that we work with our European partners to put the technical arrangements in place to avoid financial market disruption.